Anmelden

Journey to the West - An Audio Drama Series· Folge 49

Journey to the West - Chapter 24 Part 1

Freitag, 7. Februar 2025 · 21 min

MP3

Shownotes

Eating babies, is that a thing?

Bringing China's most influential fantasy adventure to your ears, with an original translation right from its source text.

The Fifth Monkey is an independent, multinational team dedicated to this project.

Become a paid subscriber to unlock exclusive content:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (patreon.com/thefifthmonkey) (recommended)

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠ (podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thefifthmonkey…)

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (youtube.com/channel/UCASOlps8Kf-92mzybyOisZA)

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ko-fi⁠⁠⁠⁠ (ko-fi.com/thefifthmonkey) (donation only)

And follow us on social media:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (bsky.app/profile/5thmonkey.bsky.social)

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tumblr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (tumblr.com/blog/jttwaudiodrama)

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Weibo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (weibo.com/u/7792263760)

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bilibili (space.bilibili.com/2036113285)

Transkriptvom Podcast bereitgestellt · Zeitmarken springen hin

This is an independent project funded by no one else but our listeners. For subtitles, please visit our YouTube channel. To access all the locked content, please consider becoming a paid subscriber for a minimum of three U.S. dollars per month on Spotify, YouTube, Patreon, or drop a donation on Kofi.

Details are in the descriptions. Thank you. Journey to the West, an audio drama series. Chapter 24 Part 1 We now speak of the remaining 3 entering the forest and finding the full tied to a tree, moaning nonstop in unbearable pain. Xinjiao walked up and laughed saying good son in Lord, it's already late in the morning, why aren't you up and thanking your in laws?

Why aren't you informing master of your happy occasion? Why are you here, playing around with your acrobatics? Hey, where is your mother? Where is your wife? What a son-in-law, naked and tied up. The fool heard his mocking and became quite embarrassed. Gritting his teeth and bearing the pain, he dared not make a sound. Shamrock felt rather sympathetic, so he put down the luggage, went up and united all the ropes to help him down. The fool only prostrated and kowtowed towards them, feeling truly ashamed of himself.

And so Bazier burned incense on soil and bowed to the skies above. Wukong asked. Did you recognize all the Bodizatwa? Bazier answered. I was dizzy and dazzled, how could I possibly recognize anyone? Singja then handed the note to Bazier. Bazier read the chants and became even more embarrassed.

Shamonk laughed and said, Second elder brother has some great luck here. You attracted 4 Bodizatwa to marry you. Bazier replied, Brother, I never mentioned this again. I don't deserve any of this. From now on, I will not dare act out again. Even if exhaustion breaks my bones, I will let the burden crush on my shoulders and follow master to the West realm.

Sanzang said. That's the right thing to say. Singja thereby led his master onto the main road. They fed on wind and lift by water, and after many days they suddenly found a high mountain blocking their way. Sanzang reined in the horse and held the whip, asking disciples, there's a mountain before us. We must be careful, for I fear there might be monsters about seeking to harm us.

Cinto said. When you have the three of us before your horse, what monster are you even afraid of? The Elder therefore let go of his worries and moved forward. That mountain, though, was truly a fine one. I am majestic. Its root and peak connected the sky and earth. Rare birds and beasts roamed its forest, while red mist and rainbow clouds filled the space.

In sun and wind, its pinnacles shone solemnly, and the many strangely shaped rocks puffed auspicious air. Everlasting flora covered its surface, painting every color between endless streams and ranges. What a truly blessed immortal mountain, dwarfing legendary realms. Elsewhere, Flowers blossomed and faded across the mountain as clouds came and went on the peaks. On the horse, San Zhang said in delight. Disciples, I've been through many a mountain and river since I headed westward.

They've all been rather rugged and dangerous, and none was as scenic as this mountain. It's indeed an extraordinary and curious place. If it's not far from Thunder Clap, we should be tidying our clothes to face the respected 1. Singdo laughed and said Too early, too early. Still, we're nowhere near that place.

Shamonk asked Elder brother, how far are we from Thunderclap? Singto answered 108,000 Lee, we've not even made 110th of the trip yet. Bazia said. Oh Big Brother, how many years would it take for us to get there? Singto answered These roads, if it's my two wise younger brothers, it should take you a little more than 10 days. If it's myself, I can make 50 round trips and the sun will still be up in the sky.

If it's master, then forget about it, Forget about it? Tang monk asked. Wukong, when do you think we can reach there? Sinjo explained. You can walk from when you are a child to when you're old, and be reborn as a child again after that. Even after 1000 cycles of going from young to old, it might still be difficult to reach. But as long as you understand your true nature and stay sincere, every time you turn back from a thought will be where the Spirit Mountain lies.

Sha Monk said. Elder brother, this might not be thunderclap, but judging from the scenery, it must be home to a fine individual. Singto agreed. That is very true. There is definitely no evil spirit in this place. It must be the home of some divine monk or immortal being. Let's just take our time and enjoy the trip. We will speak no more on that.

We now talk about this mountain which was called Guangshoshan or Infinite Longevity Mountain. In it lie the Daoist Temple called Wujongguan Guang means Taoist temple and Wujong is an obscure way to refer to our five major internal organs, that is the liver, the heart, the spleen, the lung and the kidney.

It is a key concept in traditional alchemy. For simplicity, we will use the name Wujong Temple from now on. In the temple lived an immortal whose religious title was Zhenyuanzhi serves as an honorific, while Zhenyuan roughly means to calm the core. He was also known as Yu Shi Tongjun, meaning Lord equivalent to the universe.

In that temple grew an extraordinary treasure which was a magic root birthed at the time when the chaos first divided and the world formed across the four Greek continents of the world. It only grew in Wujong Temple of Apalacodania, continent of the West. It was known as Taohuandan meaning grass pellet of reversion or Ren Shen Guo, with Ren Shen being the Chinese name of the herb jinseng and Guo meaning fruit. We will call it the Ren Sheng fruit from now on. The plant blossoms once every 3000 years and bears fruit 3000 years later.

The fruit would not ripe for another 3000 years, so it would take up to a total of 10,000 years for the fruit to be edible, and for 10,000 years it would bear only 30 fruit. Each fruit resemble little babies barely three days old, complete with limbs and the five sense organs. If a human were blessed with such fortune and could smell the fruit, they will live to be 360 years old.

If they could eat one, they will live up to 47,000 years. That day, Great Immortal Zhen Yuan received a note from Yuan Shu Tianzun, or the Primordial Lord of Heaven, which invited him to Miro Palace of the Upper Pure Heaven for a lecture on the Taoist fruit of mixing the course. There were countless unaffiliated immortals who graduated from the Great Immortals teachings.

At that point in time, he still had 48 disciples with him, all of whom were enlightened Taoists. That day, he decided to take 46 of them to the realm above for the lecture, leaving the two youngest disciples to watch over their household. One was named Qingfeng, meaning pure wind, and the other Ming Yue, meaning bright moon.

Qingfeng was only 1320 years old, while Ming Yue just passed 1200 years. Zhen Yuenzu instructed the two youths. I could not turn down the invitation from the Great Lord of Heaven, so I'm heading to Milor Palace for a lecture. The two of you shall be very careful at home. Soon an acquaintance of mine will pass by this place. Do treat him well without negligence. You may pick two of my rendition fruit to serve him as a token of our past friendship.

The two youngsters asked. Who is this acquaintance of yours? Master, do let your disciples know so we can make him at home. The great immortal answered, He is the divine monk serving the Throne of Great Tongue in the land of the East. His religious name is San Zhang. He's now a monk heading West to see Buddha and Sikh scriptures.

The two youths laughed and said, Confucius once said Those heading different ways shall not contrive with each other. We're in the Mystic gates of Taoism. Were you even acquaintances with a monk? The great mortal explained. What do you even know? That monk is the reincarnation of Elder Golden Cicada, the second disciple of the Divine Elder of the West Rule I, the Buddha. 500 years ago, we met at the Om Lambam feast.

He once passed tea over to me by hand. The Buddhists respected me, therefore I consider him an acquaintance. The two immortal youths heard his words and vowed to faithfully carry out their master's instructions. The immortal was about to depart when he once again instructed. Those fruit of mine are numbered, only give him two, and not anymore shall be wasted.

Xinfeng said. When we opened up the garden, all of us shared true fruit 28 remain on the tree. Now we dare not use more than asked. The great immortal said. Although Tang San Zhang is an acquaintance of mine, you need to beware those under him who can become rowdy. Do not alert them with the fruit. The two youths received their orders before the Great Immortal, along with his many disciples, rose above and headed for the Heavenly Realm.

We speak now of the Tang Monk's team of four. They were enjoying their time in the mountains when they suddenly looked up to find a patch of Pines and bamboos surrounding several buildings. Tang monk asked. Wukong, have a look and see what sort of place that is. Xinjo looked over and said. That place is either a Daoist temple or a Buddhist monastery. Let's get moving.

We'll know when we get there. Soon. They made it to the gates for a better look, and what they saw were chilly hills where Pines grew and tranquil paths lined with bamboo. Cranes came and went, sending clouds their way as apes went up and down before presenting you with the fruit. The ponds were as wide as the tree's shadows were long, with palaces shooting up like poles, as if floating in Mystic mist. What a blessed realm, seldom bothered by worldly matters, where the silence can inspire the way from your heart. Legendary birds served as messengers for gossip of, and indeed what a formidable residence of the immortal this is.

San Zhang rose from his saddle and got off the horse before finding a stone tablet by the roadside. On the tablet were 10 large characters. Wan Xiosan, Fu Di Wu, Zhang Guan, Dong Tien, Meaning Infinite Longevity Mountain, the blessed Land, Wu Drong Temple, the hidden paradise. The elder said Disciples, it really is a Taoist temple. Xiao Mong said Master, this is quite the vivid scene. There must be a fine individual residing in the temple. Let's head inside to have a look. Once we've completed the journey and are on our way back eastward, this will be quite the scenic stop. Seem to agreed well said, and so they all entered together. Soon they found a pair of festive couplets on the secondary gates, saying forever

living and young residents of the immortal same age as heaven, is this Taoist home? Sinjar laughed and said This Taoist is just bluffing. When Elder Sun caused all that havoc in heaven 500 years ago, even at the front gate of the Supreme and Venerable Elder, I never made such a claim. Bhatia said. Don't bother yourself with this, let's go inside, go inside. This Taoist might be quite accomplished, you never know. Once they made it into the secondary gates, they saw two youths rushing out from the inside. Look at how they were dressed, beautiful and fresh features they had, with short hair and buns styled for children. Their robes gathered mist while their feather sleeves let out wind sessions were tied into the

shape of a Dragon's head, and their shoes were lightly laced with silk. Their refined complexions were not of the mortal kind, for there are two immortal youths named Pure Wind and Bright Moon. The youths bowed to greet the guests, saying, Elderly master, we apologize for the belated welcome, please come take a seat.

The elder was overjoyed and entered the main hall with the two youths. There turned out to be 5 large halls, all facing southward and decorated with hollow out windows that were bright on the upper half and dim on the lower half. The immortal youths pushed open the frames and invited the tongue monk inside the hall.

What he saw hanging at the center of the wall were two large characters decorated with colors. Tian Di Tian means heaven and Di means earth. On a lacquered scarlet incense table was placed a golden bottle oven, and next to the oven were conveniently placed intact incense. The tongue monk went up and pinched an incense to burn it on the oven.

He paid respect by walking in three circles. Once the ceremony was complete, he turned around to ask immortal youths, This Wujong Temple of yours is truly an immortal realm of the West. Why aren't you paying offering to the three Pure Ones for emperors or the many rulers above and instead only offer incense to two characters meaning heaven and earth? The youths.

Laughed and said, To be honest with you, teacher, within these two characters, the one above will still deserve such courtesy, but the one below is not worth our offering. Our teacher just did this to Curry favors. Sanzang asked. What do you mean by currying favors? The youths explained. The three pure ones are our teacher's friends and four emperors, his acquaintances, the 9 luminaries, his juniors and gods of the new year his lowest ranking guess.

Sincho heard their words and began laughing till he dropped. Bazi asked. Oh Big Brother, what are you laughing about? Sincho answered. People only ever talk about elder sons shenanigans, but turns out these Dallas boys are just as good at lying. San Tzan asked. Where is your teacher? The boys answered. Our dear teacher was invited by the Primordial Lord of Heaven to receive a lecture on the Taoist fruit of mixing the course in Milua Palace of the Upper Pure Heaven. He's not home at the moment.

Seemed to heard them and couldn't help but shout out Sticky Taoist boys, you know no one. Who are you even trying to fool with your shenanigans? What sort of pretentious bluff is this? Who even is an accomplished Taoist Heavenly Immortal in Milua Palace? Why would they even have invited you? Cow hoofs for a lecture?

Cow hoofs, or sometimes cow noses, are nicknames often used in a derogatory way for doubts. San Zhang saw him lash out and fear that Yuv's response would cause a scene, so he interrupted. UU Kong, quit the arguing. If we leave now, right after we've already entered, it would appear as if we lacked any sense of friendship.

As the saying goes, herons do not feed on the flesh of their own kind. If the teacher is absent, what is the point of bothering him? You can go graze the horse outside the mountain gates while Shamanc. Watches the luggage. And we'll have Mati untie the bags and take out some rice and rations. We'll borrow their pot and stove to make a meal.

Once we are ready to leave, we'll just pay them a little bit for the firewood and that will be the end of it. You will each do what you are tasked with and let me rest here. We will leave once we are done eating. The three of them indeed left for their tasks. Ming Yu and Xinfeng secretly complimented. What a fine monk, Truly a loving sage descending to the motto Whirl from the West with his true nature intact. Master instructed us to receive the Tongue monk and serve him with Rin Shen fruit as a token of their past friendship. He also told us to stay alert for his rowdy underlings. Indeed, those three have quite hideous appearances and rough personalities.

Glad they have been moved elsewhere. Should they stay around, we cannot let them see a Renshan fruit at all. Xingfeng added. Brother, we do not know if that monk is master's acquaintance yet. Better ask him and not get it wrong. The pair once again went up to ask. May we ask Teacher, if you're a Tung San Tsang heading for scriptures in West Heaven for the Great Tongue? The elder returned the courtesy and answered. This humble cleric indeed is.

Why do you know my lowly name? Immortal Use. The youths answered. When our master was about to depart, he instructed us his disciples to go to great lengths to welcome you, but we didn't expect your arrival to be so soon. We apologize for the lack of reception. Please take a seat. Teacher allowed us disciples to arrange for tea to be served.

Sanson said. You shouldn't have. Ming heir then quickly turned back inside the main room and took out a cup of fragrant tea to present the elder. Once. Tea was finished. Xinfeng said. Brother, we cannot disobey master's orders. You and I shall go collect the fruit. The two youths excused themselves from Sansang and returned to their rooms.

One took a golden mallet and the other a pellet tray before covering it with some green handkerchiefs. They then went straight into the Renshung garden. Xinfeng climbed up the tree and knocked down the fruit with the golden mallet. Wang Mingua stay below to catch the fruit with the pellet tray. Soon enough, two fruit were knocked down and collected in the tray.

They then returned straight to the front hall and presented them saying, Master Tongue, this Wujong Temple of ours is quite the remote and barren place with our thing to serve here is our local specialty in the form of two plain fruit. We hope they can at least ease your thirst. The elders saw them and became so fear stricken, he moved three to away, saying, Good heavens, good heavens, this year is one of ample harvest, Why is the Star Wars Temple eating humans as if during a famine? This is a child barely three days old, how can it possibly ease my thirst?

Xinfeng quietly muttered. This monk has found in the realm of mouth and tongue sea of right and wrong, a pair of fleshly eyes and a mortal body, unable to recognize the unusual treasure of our immortal abode. Ming Yu went up to explain. Teacher, this thing is called the luncheon fruit, it wouldn't hurt to try one. Sanzan said.

Nonsense, nonsense, you have no idea how much their parents suffered during the pregnancy. They were born barely three days ago, how can you take them as fruit? Xinfeng explained. They really did grow on a tree. The elder said. Absurdity, absurdity, how can humans grow from a tree? Take them away or I shall cease to be human. The two youths saw him vehemently refusing the treat, so they had no choice but bring the tray back to their main room.

The fruit were quite the curious type, for they cannot be kept for too long. If that happens, they become hardened and not as edible. So the two of them enter the room, each with a fruit in their hands, and started eating by their bedside. Journey to the West, an audio drama series, is an independent production by The 5th Monkey.

For subtitles, please visit our YouTube channel. To access all the locked content, please consider becoming a paid subscriber for a minimum of three U.S. dollars per month on Spotify, YouTube, Patreon, or drop a donation on Kofi. If. You are a Patreon member. You will be able to access art field pieces and other exclusive content.

Head to WWW dot. Thefithmonkey.com for links to all the platforms we're on and support us on social media. Shares, comments, emails, all are welcome. This is Lynn, see you in the next episode.

Anmelden oder registrieren

Jetzt

0:00 / 0:00